THE SPRING 2013 COLLECTION OF RALPH RUCCI
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine NolanAs I walked down 7th Avenue near 34th Street in the heart of the Fashion District of New York City during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, I came upon a gold star plaque on the ‘Fashion Walk of Fame’ and it just happened to belong to Ralph Rucci.
What a thrill knowing that soon I would be seated in The Theatre on September 9th at Lincoln Center watching his debut of the Chado Ralph Rucci Spring 2013 Collection. Earning this star was no small feat for the distinguished designer.
I am a huge fan of Ralph Rucci. He has been in the industry for over 30 years and can be considered one of the most seasoned designers of all time. The collections have such a cultured appeal to them and they are presented in a cultivated and enticing manner. Rucci designs for the woman with a confident sense of her own style and a desire to always look beautiful for every occasion. He experiments with cut, proportion and construction in intriguing ways and continues to have such overwhelming success.
The Spring 2013 Collection was couture fashion in action. Vividly brilliant colors of yellow, pink, green and gold lit up the mirrored runway in a special and magical way. The pieces were made to look even richer in fabrics of silk, chiffon, ultra suede, leather, wool and crepe.
Rucci has an unmistakable talent for making a simple suit or a pleasing sheath into a remarkable work of art.
Perhaps the most staunch example of his meticulous attention to intricate detail were the lovely hand-painted gowns with touches of gold, the shocking bugle beaded and feather dress along with the black topography feathered twinset and black topography beaded skirt and body con cut-outs trimmed in neon.
The designer took neoprene and transformed it into dresses and suits putting the accent on the woman’s figure and future meets fantasy in a chrome ultra suede dress.
Outerwear played an important role in the collection as well with a hand-painted silk faille coat, the traditional trench coat turned around with a more sophisticated look about it and a chrome silk faille Bombe Glacier Rain Jacket.
The matte jersey dress may just be the up and coming piece for spring as we watched it appear on the runway in different variations. We saw the Black/Multi mesh matte jersey and gazaar dress and the shocking caviar beaded/black matte jersey dress which will be hot sellers.
The runway seemed to go from subtle to splendid right before our eyes. The presentation winded down with many head-turning looks that created a stir of excitement in the audience. Some of our favorites were the grass green caviar beaded sweater and shorts with a Duchesse satin Caban, a lemon/chrome fluted bodice tulle dress, a black mesh paillettte and matte jersey gown with taffeta sleeves, black caviar beaded cage with matching cigarette pant and the final outfit and most notably the most exquisite was the black patent and hand-painted satin gown.
Rucci’s collections continue to dazzle and impress as the seasons pass. The city of New York holds a special place in his heart and all of his design work and production takes place right there in his workroom in the city. He is now working side by side with his new Chief Executive Officer, Jeffry Aronsson, whose mission is to make the Chado label an even more recognized brand internationally.
Viewing this collection made me realize even more that the “Andre Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Savannah College of Art and Design in May of this year awarded to this designer was so fondly deserved by Ralph Rucci and is only one of the many honors bestowed upon him and definitely will not be the last.
PHOTO CREDITS: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Website and www.zimbio.com
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